Help - Blank Screen and no logo at boot up!

Hey There,

my luck has been fading away these days, since my final exams are starting and my Asus c90s decided to go blank screen.

I was watching a video when some tiny colored squares showed up in some parts of the screen for 1 second then suddenly the whole screen went dark, but i could still hear the sound going, then after 3 seconds the laptop restarts automatically ( with no BSOD ). When it restarted, i couldnnt see the Asus logo that shows up every time, all i see is just a blank greyish screen. I tried restarting it again but it does the same, grayish blank screen.

It felt that it goes to the boot up and the windows welcome screen ( i guessed so bcz my webcam lid usually flashes when the windows go to welcome screen ) but it was all blank.

When i tried taking off the graphic card ( Nvidia 8600M GT 512 ) and turned the laptop on, there is just no screen reaction at all and still no logo ( not even the greyish nlank screen) so i suspected that the graphic card is the problem.

my question is, am not sure if its the graphic card, a friend told me it could be the motherboard! can a laptop atleast show the logo even if the graphic card wasnt in? is it a motherboard issue or graphic card?

Please, I need a wise help because they only sell the graphic card on ebay and if i buy that i wouldnt be able to return it if i discover later that the problem is the motherboard.

 

It sounds like your video card is on its way out. Have you tried using an external monitor?

It could also be RAM, try booting with only one stick at a time.

Also try resetting your BIOS to defaults, there may be a reset hole that you can stick a paperclip in. If not you can yank out the internal battery for a couple of seconds.

It won't show anything without a GPU, I'm surprised it will even turn on without one. If you really suspect your motherboard it'll be impossible to tell without another known-working GPU.

It's probably your video card though.

 

What groceries said.

If a computer doesnt make it past POST (Power On Self Test), its typically the GPU, RAM, or CPU.

 

Thanks Groceries and Bret for your replies

I did as you suggested, plugged the laptop into a monitor (actually a tv screen that also works for computers) and I can see stuff.

So I don't know what the problem is now. Is it the screen, motherboard, etc?

 

Well that's good news, at least your GPU isn't dead. It could be your display cable... try taking the (probably left) hinge cover off and jiggle the LVDS cable, make sure it is in the socket all the way. Probably not your motherboard. It could possibly be the CCFL backlight. That'd be relatively inexpensive to replace, but you'd have to take apart the lid.